22 June 2009

FIRST VISIT TO ISRAEL BY THE PHILIPPINE TOURISM MINISTER:

MINISTER JOSEPH H. DURANO MEETS TODAY WITH TOURISM MINISTRY D-G NOAZ BAR NIR
AND OTHER SENIOR TOURISM MINISTRY REPRESENTATIVES IN ORDER TO STRENGTHEN THE
TOURISM TIES BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES

YESTERDAY IN RISHON LEZION, MINISTER DURANO INAUGURATED A MEMORIAL TO
PHILIPPINE CITIZENS

WHO HELPED JEWS DURING THE HOLOCAUST

The Philippine Tourism Minister, Mr. Joseph H. Durano, is currently visiting
Israel on his first ever visit with a view to strengthening the tourism ties
between the two countries and to exchanging information on tourism matters,
including tourism management during times of crisis and developing rural
tourism. Minister Durano will also visit several tourist sites around the
country.

Today, Minister Durano will meet with Tourism Ministry Director-General Noaz
Bar Nir and other senior ministry representatives who will present him with
an introduction to the Israel tourism industry. This presentation includes a
study of the way Israel has dealt with various crises during and after
periods of fighting, including the compensation procedures offered to
tourism industry representatives and entrepreneurs who have been affected,
image and marketing campaigns during the global economic crisis and the
development of rural tourism in various regions in Israel that are similar
in characteristics to those in the Philippines.

About 90 million people, mostly Christians, live in the Philippines, 7,107
islands located in the western Pacific Ocean, of which about 800 are
inhabited. The number of tourists visiting Israel from the Philippines is
relatively small, with the peak being in the year 2000 when 14,000 visited.
About 8,000 tourists visited Israel last year from the Philippines.

Tourism Ministry Director-General Noaz Bar Nir: "The Israeli tourism
industry offers an example of how to cope successfully with and subsequently
recover quickly from crisis situations. I am pleased to contribute some of
this knowledge in this area as well to countries that find themselves in
similar situations. Many countries are expressing an interest in the unique
and attractive rural tourism in Israel and I hope that this visit will
advance cooperation in tourism between our two countries."

Lydia Weitzman, Foreign Press Adviser to the Ministry of Tourism

Tel: 052 3584395 Email: tourism.gov.il@gmail.com

www.goisrael.com www.holyland-pilgrimage.org